Frank Campanella (March 12, 1919 – December 30, 2006) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor. He appeared in numerous television series, as well as a few films and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

productions.

Early life and career

Campanella was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Philip and Mary O. Campanella, both born in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The family lived in the Washington Heights section of upper Manhattan. He was the older brother of actor

Joseph Campanella Joseph Anthony Campanella (November 21, 1924 – May 16, 2018) was an American character actor. He appeared in more than 200 television and film roles from the early 1950s to 2009. Campanella was best remembered for his roles as Joe Turino on ' ...

, and Philip Campanella (who became a union plumber) and spoke mostly Italian growing up; this proved useful during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when he worked as a civilian translator for the U.S. government. Campanella graduated from Manhattan College in 1940, where he studied drama. Campanella's first film role was as Mook, the Moon-Man in the 1949 science-fiction series ''

Captain Video and His Video Rangers ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...

'' and went on to appear in more than 100 film and television episodes, usually playing the "tough guy". Campanella appeared as a bartender in

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...

' '' The Producers'' (1967), starring Zero Mostel and

Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...

, and his many film credits included roles in ''

What's So Bad About Feeling Good? ''What's So Bad About Feeling Good?'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by George Seaton and starring George Peppard and Mary Tyler Moore. The film was a box office disappointment. Plot Pete (George Peppard) is a former advertising exec ...

'' (1968); ''

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight ''The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight'' is a 1971 American crime comedy film directed by James Goldstone and written by Waldo Salt, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Jimmy Breslin, which in turn was based on the life of gangster Joe ...

'' (1971); ''

The Stone Killer ''The Stone Killer'' is a 1973 American action neo noir thriller film produced and directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. It came out in between '' The Mechanic'' (1972) and ''Death Wish'' (1974), all three of which teamed up ac ...

'' (1973); '' Capone'' (1975, as

Big Jim Colosimo Vincenzo Colosimo (; February 16, 1878 – May 11, 1920), known as James "Big Jim" Colosimo or as "Diamond Jim", was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, in 1895 and built a criminal empire in Chicago based on ...

); ''

Chesty Anderson, USN ''Chesty Anderson, U.S. Navy'' is a 1976 R-rated comedy film featuring Shari Eubank as Chesty Anderson, a WAVE (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the U.S. Navy. When one of her friends goes missing, Chesty and several fellow WAV ...

'' (1976); '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978); ''

The North Avenue Irregulars ''The North Avenue Irregulars'' is a 1979 American comedy crime film produced by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company, and starring Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine and Susan Clark. Don Tait ...

'' (1979); '' High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane'' (1980); ''

Death Wish II ''Death Wish II'' is a 1982 American vigilante action film directed and co-edited by Michael Winner. It is the first of four sequels to the 1974 film '' Death Wish''. It is the second installment in the ''Death Wish'' film series. In the story ...

'' (1982); ''

Young Doctors in Love ''Young Doctors in Love'' is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. It spoofs a variety of medical shows (in particular, '' General Hospital'') and has many guest stars from ABC soap operas. The film stars Sean Young, Michael M ...

'' (1982); ''

The Flamingo Kid ''The Flamingo Kid'' is a 1984 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and produced by Michael Phillips. It stars Matt Dillon, Richard Crenna, Héctor Elizondo and Jessica Walter. The film tells the story of a working class boy w ...

'' (1984); ''

Nothing in Common ''Nothing in Common'' is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall. It stars Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason in what would be Gleason's final film role; he was suffering from cancer during the production and died less than a yea ...

'' (1986); '' Overboard'' (1987); ''

Beaches A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

'' (1988); '' Blood Red'' (1989); '' Pretty Woman'' (1990) and ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...

'' (1990). He helped Robert De Niro learn Sicilian for his role as young

Vito Corleone Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfather ...

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

's '' The Godfather: Part II'' (1974). Campanella's early television roles included three appearances as different police lieutenants on the syndicated

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

, ''

Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''ende kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lu ...

'', starring

Beverly Garland Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...

as the first female police lead in a television series. In one of the ''Decoy'' episodes, he appeared with his brother Joseph. Over his career, he appeared, often in police roles, in such well-known series as '' Ironside''; ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

''; ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...

''; ''

Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County med ...

''; ''

Chico and the Man ''Chico and the Man'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 13, 1974, to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown (the Man), the cantankerous owner of a run-down garage in an East Los ...

''; ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

''; '' Mission: Impossible''; '' Maude''; ''

Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The Mary Tyle ...

''; and ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

''. In 1969, Campanella appeared as Sheriff Quartermine on the TV Series '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "Journey to Scathelock". Campanella's Broadway credits include ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' (1965), ''

Nobody Loves an Albatross ''Nobody Loves an Albatross'' is a 1963 comedy play written by Ronald Alexander, which was performed at the Lyceum Theatre of Broadway, New York between 19 December 1963 and June 20, 1964. It was produced by Elliot Martin and Philip Rose, di ...

'' (1963), ''Nowhere to Go But Up'' (1962), ''The Deadly Game'' (1960), ''Sixth Finger in a Five Finger Glove'' (1956), ''Remains to Be Seen'' (1951), ''Stalag 17'' (1951), ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...

'' (1948), and ''Galileo'' (1947).

Death

Campanella died on December 30, 2006, at his home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He was 87.

Selected filmography

* 1956 '' Somebody Up There Likes Me'' as Detective (uncredited) * 1957 ''

Four Boys and a Gun ''Four Boys and a Gun'' is a 1957 American film noir crime film directed by William Berke and written by Leo Townsend and Philip Yordan. The film stars Frank Sutton, Tarry Green, James Franciscus, William Hinnant, Otto Hulett and Robert Dryden. ...

'' as (uncredited) * 1958 '' Stage Struck'' as Victor * 1961 '' Parrish'' as Foreman (uncredited) * 1962 ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

'' as Longshoreman * 1965 '' Who Killed Teddy Bear?'' as Police Captain * 1966 ''

Blindfold A blindfold (from Middle English ') is a garment, usually of cloth, tied to one's head to cover the human eye, eyes to disable the wearer's visual perception, sight. While a properly fitted blindfold prevents sight even if the eyes are open, a ...

'' as Police Officer (uncredited) * 1966 '' Seconds'' as Man In Station * 1967 '' The Producers'' as The Bartender * 1968 ''

'' as Captain Wallace * 1969 '' Out of It'' as The Coach * 1971 ''

The Mephisto Waltz ''The Mephisto Waltz'' is a 1971 American horror film about an occult-murder mystery. It was directed by Paul Wendkos and starred Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins, Bradford Dillman and Curd Jürgens. The name of the film is taken fr ...

'' as Detective Investigating Bill's Death (uncredited) * 1971 ''

'' as Water Buffalo * 1973 ''

'' as Calabriese * 1975 '' Capone'' as Vincenzo "Big Jim" Colosimo * 1976 ''

'' as The Baron * 1977 ''

High Anxiety ''High Anxiety'' is a 1977 American satirical comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead. This is Brooks' first film as a producer and first speaking lead role (his first lead role was in ''Silent Movie''). Veteran ...

'' as The Bartender * 1978 '' Heaven Can Wait'' as Conway * 1979 ''

'' as Max Roca * 1980 '' High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane'' as Dr. Losey * 1982 ''

'' as Judge Neil A. Lake * 1982 ''

'' as The Flashback – Young Simon's Grandfather * 1984 ''

'' as Colonel Cal Eastland * 1986 '' Free Ride'' as Old Man Garbagio * 1986 ''

'' as Remo * 1987 '' Overboard'' as Captain Karl * 1988 ''

'' as Doorman * 1989 '' Blood Red'' as Dr. Scola * 1990 '' Pretty Woman'' as Pops * 1990 ''

'' as Judge Harper * 1991 '' Frankie and Johnny'' as Retired Customer * 1994 ''

Exit to Eden ''Exit to Eden'' is a 1985 novel by Anne Rice, initially published under the pen name Anne Rampling, but subsequently under Rice's name. The novel explores the subject of BDSM in romance novel form. The novel also brought attention to Rice's pu ...

'' as Wheelchair Walker * 1994 '' Love Affair'' as Elevator Operator * 1999 ''

The Other Sister ''The Other Sister'' is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and stars Juliette Lewis, Giovanni Ribisi, Diane Keaton and Tom Skerritt. It was filmed in Long Beach, Pasadena, and San Francisco, California. The film was ...

'' as William, Guest At Wedding * 2004 ''

Raising Helen ''Raising Helen'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. It stars Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, siblings Spencer and Abigail Breslin, and Helen M ...

'' as Mourner * 2006 '' Seven Days of Grace'' as Papa (final film role)

References

External links

* *
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campanella, Frank 1919 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent Manhattan College alumni Male actors from New York City